550 Check and Clean Roomba brushes error message

[wannaroomba]

I am having trouble with my 550 for the last week. I keep getting that message. I have tried taking the whole thing apart and cleaned it very thoroughly. Any ideas? Also, if this has been brought up before, please tell me where i can find that thread! Thank you!

[Fraggboy]

wannaroomba,

It has been brought up before in multiple posts. The cause could be differnet issues tho. How long have you had your Roomba? When you say you tried taking the whole thing apart, did you take out the CHM (Cleaning Head Module which holds the brushes) and take that apart? Do you have pets?

If you have pets, you have a higher chance that pet hair has ended up in the CHM, hindering operation of the brushes. Now, even if you do have pets, the CHM might have stopped working due to other reason(s). You can verify if the brushes are actually turning by running the Roomba with the dust bin off. You can run it on carpet, and in the kitchen for less drag to see if the brushes are actually turning or not (IF you can run the Roomba at all).

[wannaroomba]

Got the roomba last Oct/ Nov. have loved it ever since. It will start running, brushes running as normal. Then after a little while (the time between varies), the brushes will stop running and the after a little while longer i get the message. i took the entire thing apart.

yes i have 1 indoor short hair dog.

[vic7767]

Did you disassemble your Cleaning Head Module and open the gear access plate and inspect the brush gears ?

You might see something like this:

[wannaroomba]

not familar with that pic??? i took the vacuum bin off, and then the cleaning head module and took it apart, but really don't remember seeing anything with that many gears?? i guess i will have to check again tonight!

a long time ago there was a step by step procedure on how to take one apart. i have been looking for it for awhile now, do you know where it is?

[vic7767]

Here's a pic I posted earlier, hope it helps:

[naas]

I am having the same problem, but I checked in the gearbox and it was clean as a whistle. What else could cause it?

Here are my exact symptoms:
Roomba 535, about 2 months old
It makes a slow ka-chunk-ka-chunk noise as it runs. The brushes stop and/or get caught on each noise, then start turning again.
After about 5 minutes the roomba stops and tells me to clean the brushes, even when they are clean.

[vic7767]

Your deck height control wire may be broken. Check and see if the small wire connects between the brush drive motor and the top center of the blue plastic cage.

[naas]

Your deck height control wire may be broken. Check and see if the small wire connects between the brush drive motor and the top center of the blue plastic cage.

Hi thanks for the reply.

There is one wire that connects between the motor and the top of the blue plastic, and seems to be intact.

Could there be any other cause?

[vic7767]

Are your brushes in good shape and are the yellow bushings clean and installed properly ?

[naas]

Are your brushes in good shape and are the yellow bushings clean and installed properly ?

Yeah, everything looks like it did when it was new (only a couple months ago). I don't have pets so it hasn't been that much of a challenge for the roomba until now. There's a few hairs stuck in the brush bristles, but not wrapped around the whole brush (like the way it was before when it asked to be cleaned).

[vic7767]

Since your Roomba is still under warranty, it would be a good time to contact IRobot about the CHM brush noise. You may have what some owners experienced with "an out of spec unit" causing the noise. IRobot should replace your CHM.

[tomonbelay]

Just wanted to drop a note to everyone here who checks this message -

If you have pet hair, you will almost certainly need to clean your bushings - the picture shown above isn't as bad as it can get - it can get much, much worse. I'd probably do this every 3-6 months just to keep everything in tip-top shape, instead of waiting for a problem.

1. Remove black bottom plate.
2. Remove screws holding the brush assembly and the piece it is attached to the Roomba. This is the blue piece plus the red brush assembly that it is attached to. Remove the whole piece.
3. Remove the 4 screws holding the brush assembly into the blue piece.
4. Remove the bushing plate. This the flat piece holding the bushings.

You should now see if there has been any dust/hair that has migrated into the bushings. These are the gears that turn the brushes, and I'm guessing that this is a common problem with people who have pets.

Once clean, reassemble and everything should work great again.

[spektator]

I had the same error on the 430. We have a long haired dog so pet hair has been a problem. I cleaned the brushes several times with no improvement. I then tore into the machine and found that the front wheel was clogged and wouldn't turn. After cleaning the brushes and the wheels, I was still getting the error message. What fixed it for me was clearing the bushings on the end of the brushes. One end of each brush with the yellow tip needs to turn freely. Pulling it off and making sure the metal bushing under the yellow tip was clear did the trick. To get at the bushing, I had to take the end off as described in the earlier post by tomonbelay, to which I owe thanks.

end of the brush

Everything is working fine now... until I have to clean the brushes again

[jswing]

I think I have found a very simple reason why the brushes on the 500 series start to behave badly after about 90+ days of activity and start to wear out the motor.

On the "main" brush there is a yellow plastic dust seal that is used on both ends of the brush to help reduce the dust that can get into the gear box on one side and into the rest of the unit on the other. When brand new, the seal on the gearbox side is smooth and causes little to no fiction but gets worn and rough with usage and presses against the plastic housing. This in turn places a real big burden on the mortor and in my case made the units go into non-stop "clean brush mode" and start doing the endless clunk-clunk-clunk sounds as the brushes refuse to turn.

I purchased a 530 and a 560 around the same time period and they both had the same problem. You can actualy see the scoring on the plastic casing were the yellow dust seal rubbs and it also makes the gearbox and casing noticably hot.

Removing the one yellow seal from the end of the brush on the gear box side made both my units run like new again.

[jurgenk]

"Removing the one yellow seal from the end of the brush on the gear box side made both my units run like new again"
It worked for me, as good as new!
Thanks!

[vic7767]

The "yellow seal" is the copper bushing encased in yellow plastic that is installed on one end of each to the two brushes in the CHM or brush deck. Make sure that they are both removed and cleaned as well as the recess in the plastic on the brush end. One other cause of the "Clean Brush" message if you have the Black CHM is that there may be debris built up inside the two shielded ball bearings causing the brush motor to use too much battery power and cause the same message.

[mfortuna]

I think he meant the slide on yellow plastic "disks" that help keep hair from getting from the brushes to the gears or bushings.

[FelixSchweizer]

I just had the very same problem on a 1 month old Roomba 560. I am cleaning the brushes on a regular (daily) basis, taking care of the yellow rings on both ends. But after running for ~20 seconds to a minute, the dirty brushes message kept coming on. I took everything apart, cleaned it and it still did not work. After some googling, I found this site and thanks to the image posted by Spektator, I noticed that the little yellow end bushing at one end of the brushes can be taken off. It pulled out easy and wow, the space was FULL of cat hair! I did not think that much 'stuff' could be contained in such a small space. Now the Roomba is happy again!
Thanks to Spektator and this site!

[kokomojuggler]

I have this problem and have taken my roomba apart several times, and still have the problem. The gearbox wasn't dirty, but I cleaned it the best I can and lubed the bearings. I even took the motor apart and lubed it, so that it seems to spin better than it did. It does this without the brushes installed, so I know it doesn't have anything to do with the yellow bearings.

Any other ideas?